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PARKS, RECREATION, AND COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA September 14, 2009 - 12:00 Noon - City Hall Conference Room - City Hall - City of Dover Public comments are welcomed on any item and will be permitted at appropriate times. When possible, please notify the City Clerk (736-7008 or e-mail at Tmcdowell@dover.de.us) should you wish to be recognized. AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS 1. Benchmarks Established for the Economic Development Office 2. Statistics Regarding Jobs and Businesses Gained and Lost in the City of Dover Since July 2008 3. Updates A. Puncheon Run Watershed Action Team Update B. Planning and Funding for New Library C. CDBG Program D. Housing and Recovery Act of 2008 Funds (Neighborhood Stabilization Fund) E. Youth Advisory Committee /tm S:\ClerksOffice\PACKETS\2009\Committee\PR&CE\09-14-2009\09-14-2009 PR&CE.wpd THE AGENDA ITEMS AS LISTED MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED IN SEQUENCE. THIS AGENDA IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE TO INCLUDE THE ADDITION OR THE DELETION OF ITEMS, INCLUDING EXECUTIVE SESSIONS.

MEMORANDUM Economic Development Office PO Box 475 Dover, DE 19903 Phone: 302.678.2940 Fax: 302.678.2132 DATE: September 2, 2009 TO: Parks, Recreation & Community Enhancement Committee FROM: William G. Neaton, Economic Development Manager Ann Marie Townshend, AICP, Planning & Community Development SUBJECT: Statistics Regarding Jobs and Businesses Lost Since July 2008 The Parks, Recreation and Community Enhancement Committee has requested that the Economic Development Office report quarterly on the number of jobs and businesses gained and lost within the City of Dover. Currently, there is no repository for employment statistics at the City level, and the data we have access to do not give a complete picture. We have also included an item on this meeting’s agenda to review the benchmarks set for the Economic Development Office. With these benchmarks, we will begin reporting monthly on the measures identified, which include a number of employment statistics. In the absence of a full picture of employment gains and losses within the City between July 2008 and the present, we are sharing with you the employment numbers generated by the Kent Economic Partnership for the Kent County Major Employers within the City of Dover for 2008 and 2009. We have also provided employment and unemployment statistics from the Delaware Department of Labor going back to July 2008. We will be available at the Parks, Recreation and Community Enhancement Committee meeting on September 14th to answer any questions you may have and discuss these statistics and the benchmarks set for the Economic Development Office. Out of this discussion and with the establishment of benchmarks, the Economic Development Office will begin providing you with regular reports of economic data for the City of Dover. The following table was developed using information available through the Kent Economic Partnership for 2008 and 2009. The City of Dover Economic Development Office has recently begun tracking quarterly employment numbers from the 12 largest employers within the City of Dover. This information will be reported quarterly to the Parks, Recreation & Community Enhancement Committee and City Council. Because the City only began collecting the

quarterly employment numbers in June 2009, we are unable to use those numbers to compare to previous years. Employer 2008 2009 Net Gain/Loss Dover Air Force Base Military – 5,715 Military – 3,357 Military – (2,358) Civilian – 1,090 Civilian – 1,040 Civilian – (50) Reserves – 1,790 Reserves – 1,940 Reserves - 150 Bayhealth (Kent General & 2,915 2,915 -0- Milford Memorial Hospitals combined) Playtex Products 650 603 (47) Kraft Foods 450 520 70 Delaware State University 650 FT- 727 FT – 77 PT- 156 Dover Downs, Inc 1,182 975 (207) Department of Corrections 2,424 2,564 140 Aetna U.S. Healthcare 245 245 -0- Silver Lake Center Genesis 185 Not Reported --- Eldercare Proctor & Gamble 315 395 80 Hirsh Industries 220 200 (20) Comcast Cable 439 Not Reported --- Walmart 380 278 (102) Boscov’s Department Store 250 175 (75) Sam’s Club 228 215 (13) J.C. Penney Co, Inc. 139 139 -0- Sears, Roebuck & Co. 180 Not Reported --- Westminster Village 189 190 1 Delaware Technical & 459 409 (50) Community College Dover Post 160 138 (22) Sheraton Dover Hotel 136 130 (6) Wesley College 287 250 (37) Kmart 70 Not Reported --- Chesapeake Utilities 141 Not Reported --- PPG Industries 91 95 4 Independent Newspapers 175 134 (41) Target 150 Not Reported --- Source: Kent Economic Partnership

The following statistics were obtained from the Delaware Department of Labor website and are not seasonally adjusted. Year Period Labor Employment Unemployment Unemployment Force Actual Actual Rate 2008 July 17,061 16,084 977 5.7 2008 August 17,041 15,908 1,133 6.6 2008 September 16,846 15,859 987 5.9 2008 October 17,121 16,021 1,100 6.4 2008 November 17,099 16,089 1,010 5.9 2008 December 16,969 15,904 1,065 6.3 2008 Annual 17,051 16,127 924 5.4 2009 January 16,759 15,482 1,277 7.6 2009 February 16,720 15386 1,334 8.0 2009 March 16,726 15,328 1,398 8.4 2009 April 16,831 15,481 1,350 8.0 2009 May 16,815 15,339 1,476 8.8 2009 June 17,064 15,370 1,694 9.9 2009 July 16,927 15,320 1,607 9.5 Source: Delaware Department of Labor

Parks, Recreation, and Community Enhancement Committee September 14, 2009 Updates Planning and Funding for New Library As we near the midpoint of the Design/Development phase of the Library’s planning process, we are working closely with the architects and EDiS, our construction management firm, to finalize a budget for the project. As you know, our original plans called for a 52,000 square foot building at a cost of $18.2 million. As we have worked through the planning process, we have been able to reduce the square footage to 46,000 without compromising the programming and collection space of the building. On the other hand, the needs of the building indicated that a budget of $23.5 million might be necessary. Extremely sensitive to the economic conditions and state of our area, we began the task of “value engineering” to decide what was necessary for function and longevity versus what was wanted. We call this deciding whether or not to drive a Cadillac, a Camry or a Corvair. Through “value engineering,” we have been able to reduce costs while maintaining square footage, programming and collection space. The economy in this instance has worked to our advantage with reduced construction costs in today’s climate. It is not anticipated that the window of reduced construction costs will be open long and any delay in the project will cause an increase in construction costs. The budget for the new library building project is now $22 million. This is the figure we will use as we move into our Capital Campaign. Donna Stone, Manager of the TD Bank, has agreed to serve as the Chair of the Library’s Capital Campaign. This is a very important and big role for our project. We are grateful to Ms. Stone for her support of our project and her willingness to commit time, skills and energy to raise the funds necessary to build the Library. With Ms. Stone as our official Chair and Mrs. Markell as our Honorary Chair, our capital campaign is off to a very good start. The architects will visit again on September 30 and October 1. We will host a Green Summit for the public on the evening of the 30th to talk about the plans for alternative energy and sustainable design for the new building. We hope to schedule a Green Summit on the same day for the members of the Dover City Council to ensure that they are fully informed and all questions have been answered, Skate Park We are continuing work to locate and evaluate potential temporary skatepark locations. We are working on community outreach for one of the possible temporary skatepark locations. We are seeking location ideas from the PR & CE committee. A temporary DIY, ‘do it yourself’, park needs to have a paved, concrete or similar hard surface in decent shape, existing parking and reasonable access for local youth. Site visibility, centrally located in Dover and area safety are additional criteria to consider.

Status of FY-08-09 CDBG Projects Monthly statistics for the month of August. Fiscal year 2008 Dover Interfaith Ministry to the Homeless U HUD has requested to review the lease agreement from the Downtown Dover Partnership before making a recommendation. U Homeowner Rehabilitation Program U Bids were opened on August 25th for three (3) housing repair projects scheduled to begin on September 14th. Homeownership Assistance Program (Down payment Assistance) U One family is scheduled to close on September 8th. Fiscal year 2009 Sub-recipient agreements will be signed on September 1st, and projects will be underway. Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Two families are mortgage ready and seeking to purchase 343 Mimosa Avenue and 121 Westover Drive.

Parks, Recreation, and Community Enhancement Committee 9/14/09 Status of FY-08-09 Program Funds Spent - Fiscal Year 7/1/09-6/30/10 2009 Grant Projects Project Details Total Grant Funds Encumbered Funds Expended Unencumbered Balance Three familes are Homeownership Assistance Program $30,000 $30,000 shopping for homes. Three housing repair *Housing Rehabilitation Program $95,875 $95,875 projects underway Contract signed $6,956 $6,956 September 1st 217-219 Reed St. Rental Rehab Contract signed $50,483 $50,483 Elizabeth Murphey School September 1st Contract signed $35,000 $35,000 RC & D September 1st underway $42,000 $42,000 Downtown Dover Partnership Hud awaiting to review lease purchase $60,000 $60,000 Dover Interfaith Ministry FY-08 agreement Total $320,314 $320,314 * rehab projects - please note that $35,875 has been rolled over to program year FY-09 49 S. Kirkwood Street 420 Court Street 720 Carol Street